


Worthy

by alafaye, Emrys MK (mk_malfoy), kitty_collab (kitty_fic), little_dhampir, MoonChat (Moonflower999), schweet_heart, ViridianJane



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic, Banter, Bodyswap, Curses, First Time, Fluff, Humour, M/M, Magic, Smitten Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 01:51:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12571048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alafaye/pseuds/alafaye, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mk_malfoy/pseuds/Emrys%20MK, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitty_fic/pseuds/kitty_collab, https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_dhampir/pseuds/little_dhampir, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonflower999/pseuds/MoonChat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/schweet_heart/pseuds/schweet_heart, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViridianJane/pseuds/ViridianJane
Summary: When Arthur and Merlin wake up body-swapped for the second time in as many weeks, something has to be done.





	Worthy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [redeyedwrath](https://archiveofourown.org/users/redeyedwrath/gifts).



> Redeyedwrath's Birthday Bash Round Robin 2017
> 
> Wishing the happiest of happy birthdays to Redeyedwrath!

Merlin awoke on Friday morning, certain he would be late for class. It was light outside, which meant he'd missed his alarm again. He reached for his dresser and knocked over a lamp. Wait... a lamp? He sat up in bed and looked down at himself. "Not again!" he groaned with a voice that wasn't his own. This was the second time that he'd somehow awoken as Arthur instead of himself, and he was certain that hiding an entire day again wouldn't go down well at all. Not when Arthur was starting up his own company and everyone depended on him. 

 

He had barely pulled on a pair of Arthur's trousers on and wandered into his kitchen when he heard a key turn in his lock and watched himself — or rather Arthur in Merlin's own body — enter his flat.

 

"Merlin! Why on earth does this keep happening? Can't you get your magic under control?" Arthur asked in Merlin's familiar voice. 

"Well, you don't have to be a prat about it! You know this doesn't happen with anyone else...only you. So, technically, this could be all your fault," Merlin groused, as he took to tea cups out of the cupboard and put up the kettle to boil. "I have that advanced seminar today. There are only five of us in the group. How on earth am I going to explain who I am?" 

 

"Well, _I_ have a meeting with some investors this afternoon," Arthur said, and wow, okay, Merlin's face looked really weird when he was sulking. "So you're just going to have to think of something. Or, better yet, come up with some way to actually _fix this_  so you don't have to." 

 

"It's not like I'm doing it on purpose," Merlin muttered. He'd been doing his best to figure out what was going on since the last time, but so far Gaius' old textbooks had not been very helpful.

 

"That's what you said about the cat, which turned out to be a dragon, and about the dog, which also turned out to be a dragon! And each time there's something wrong, it ends up being your fault, Merlin!" Arthur's nostrils flared in a way that Merlin had never realized they did. He gulped. He decided that he didn't like looking at himself like that at all. 

 

"You think I can't do it," Merlin concluded miserably. 

 

"Convince my investors to go ahead with a multi-million pound deal? Oh god, I'm going to have to call them and postpone. No, YOU have to call them and postpone. Then it'll be another week until…"

 

"Another Friday?" Merlin ventured. "What if it happens again?”

 

The stare Arthur gave him spoke volumes of what he thought about that.

 

"Arthur, I'm not sure it's my magic. I think, well—maybe we've been cursed?" Merlin put his face in his hands, and shook his head slowly. He looked back up and stared into his own face. "Or, I dunno, maybe it is my magic...you know my magic is crazy about you. Still, this is ridiculous. I can't even kiss you because it's so weird to be kissing my own face." 

 

"Oh gods, Merlin! Don't cry! I can't bear to see myself cry!" Arthur came close and wrapped his arms around Merlin. "Hey. Hey, love, just close your eyes, and it won't be so weird. We'll figure this out." 

 

Nuzzling his cheek into Merlin's shiny blond locks made Arthur a little woozy until he closed his own eyes. 

 

“Oh, so if I were crying in my _own_  body, it would be fine?” Merlin grumbled, but he leaned into Arthur’s embrace a little anyway. The trouble was, they hadn’t really been dating very long — not that there was any point in a relationship when swapping bodies wouldn’t be weird as hell, but still. Merlin couldn’t help feeling as if it were magic’s way of warning him to back off while he still had the chance.

 

And yet, Merlin couldn't deny that he felt a deep connection with Arthur even when they weren't in each other's bodies.

 

Arthur tightened his arms around Merlin. "Hey, of course I don't like to see you cry — no matter the form you're in.”

 

Merlin pulled back just enough so he could look into Arthur’s eyes, which were not at all Arthur’s eyes, and wiped his nose on his sleeve, wishing he wasn’t an emotional mess. He hated this. What had happened? He needed to find Gaius and ask him if maybe he had any ideas who could be after them, although, he already had his suspicions. 

 

“Where is your uncle?” he asked carefully, knowing that Arthur thought his uncle could do no wrong. And, as expected, Arthur’s face, which, again, was not Arthur’s face at all, frowned. Merlin had to close his eyes because this was all becoming too much. Whatever Arthur had to say, Merlin could only listen. 

 

"My uncle? Merlin, for Christ's sake, _stop_  going on about that! My uncle would never wish to harm either of us." 

 

Merlin sighed, and knocked his head on Arthur's shoulder. It was strange, being shorter than Arthur whenever they switched. 

 

"Arthur, you have to admit, it's strange that this only started happening _after_  your uncle showed up." 

 

"Merlin, he's all I have left of my mother. I'm all he has left of his sister. Why would he want to do this? What would he get out of it?" 

 

Merlin looked really troubled. And Arthur understood that look, though he'd never known how clearly his distress showed on his own face. 

 

“Who do you think benefits if your deal falls through?” Merlin pointed out, as gently as he could. “If you suddenly start to look disorganised or crazy, or people lose confidence in your ability to lead, who do you think they’re going to turn to?”

 

Arthur’s expression darkened. “But why _you_? What would my Uncle have to gain by swapping me with you?”

 

Merlin sputtered. “He hates me, Arthur. Not dislikes me… HATES me. I’m not saying it’s him who’s behind this—I seriously doubt he could do anything near as complicated as this—but I would bet my wages for a year that he would do whatever it took to discredit me in other people’s eyes. By doing that he thinks you would decide I wasn’t worth your time. Because, obviously,” Merlin said, rolling his eyes and letting out an exaggerated sigh, “you are vain and would not be seen with someone who was not worthy of a Pendragon.”

 

"You think that's what my uncle thinks of you? Of us?" Arthur leaned back to look Merlin in the eye, brows furrowed. "And wait, did you say discredit _you_? As in, _I_  would ruin your seminar thing? I know all about your seminar thing." 

 

Oh, here we go. Merlin sighed.

 

"You! I can't believe you're arguing with me about this." Merlin turned away and stalked off towards the kitchen with Arthur following closely behind him. 

 

"Don't walk away from me. Please, Merlin. I'm sorry. We'll figure this out. I know we will." 

 

“Oh, so now you believe in me?" Merlin sighed, making himself some tea. He was sure Agravaine had something to do with it; he had to. It’s not like his magic was acting up all the time. Last time it did he was still a teenager and, well, horny. His magic had only reacted to all those hormones flooding his system. It's not like this still could be the case. 

 

Thinking of the surprisingly hot dream he had last night, he suddenly wasn't so sure about the horny teenager phase being over. 

 

“Arthur,” he said slowly, but Arthur had already come up behind him.

 

“Just because I don’t agree with you on everything doesn’t mean I don’t believe in you,” he said, fetching a second mug from the cupboard and shoving it not-so-subtly in Merlin’s direction. Apparently, he hadn’t noticed Merlin’s sudden epiphany, or if he had, he paid no attention to it. “I just…this deal is really important to me. It’s my chance to finally get out from my father’s shadow and make a name for myself. I don’t want anything to screw it up.”

 

Merlin winced. “I know that,” he said. “So if this is what I think it is, I’m really sorry. But I think maybe I have an idea about how this happened after all.”

 

Arthur's face lit up. "You do?" 

 

Merlin cleared his throat. "Um. I— I had a dream about you last night and I remember that when I was a teenager... Well. I think you get the idea." 

 

Arthur blinked. Slowly. 

 

"You're saying this happened when you were a kid?" 

 

Merlin blushed. "Of course not! But sometimes my magic would get out of control, and with your business taking off and my studies and then this...We haven't had time to do anything more than kiss." 

 

Arthur slowly smirked, which continued to look weird on Merlin's own face. "So you think your subconscious wants us to have sex and is forcing us to admit it by swapping bodies?" 

 

Merlin blew out a breath. "Yeah." 

 

Arthur forced him to put down his cup of tea. "Then there's only one solution." 

 

Merlin let out a nervous laugh. He had waited for this moment and had thought it would never happen. They had come close that one other time, but kissing had been as far as they’d got before Arthur had gone home and then called Merlin in a panic the next morning when he saw his reflection in the mirror and saw that he looked like Merlin. Merlin had been none too pleased to wake up to a frantic Arthur yelling at him over the mobile, telling him to look in the mirror. To say that day had been tense was an understatement. They had been in each other’s bodies for twelve hours and had been reversed that evening. Merlin hadn’t known why, but now thinking back on it, they had kissed about an hour before they were turned back. So… maybe this would work. No, it WOULD work. It had to. 

 

Arthur reached out, pulling Merlin closer, their lips meeting for a kiss.

 

The kiss was broken by a giggle. "I'm sorry," Merlin said with a grin. "This is so weird... kissing myself.”

 

"Idiot," Arthur said, nuzzling his neck and pressing him back against the counter. "Just close your eyes if that makes it easier.”

 

Some moments later, Arthur pulled away and took Merlin's hand, drawing him towards the sofa. They sank down onto the sofa together. Arthur took Merlin's face in his hands, and kissed his forehead, his cheeks, and the tip of his nose. Then he pulled back a tiny bit, and looked straight into Merlin's eyes. 

 

"So. whenever this happens, I'll know that you're just needing some loving?" smirked Arthur. "And that you miss me so much that you swap bodies with me just to be near me." 

 

Merlin blushed and squirmed a bit, hiding his face in Arthur's shoulder. He murmured, "Umm, yeah, I think so. Guess we'll see if this works."

 

*

 

"You know," said Arthur, "I'm not sure I mind this very much after all." 

 

They lay both naked and sweaty on the sofa, hearts still beating wild and cuddling one another. 

 

"What?" asked Merlin. "Switching bodies, or this?" 

 

Just as they had suspected, they had turned back the second they had given into their passion; coming in each other's arms, they realized that the buzzing feeling wasn't just from the intense pleasure they gave each other but was also coming from Merlin's magic giving them back their own bodies.

 

"As much as I enjoy touching myself, I was talking about us having sex. We shouldn't have waited so long." 

 

Merlin could only agree and hummed against Arthur's chest, where his head currently lay. 

 

“Seriously, Merlin.” Arthur’s fingers trailed down Merlin’s bare arm, making him shiver. “You know you don’t need to resort to magic to be close to me, right?”

 

“I know that.” Merlin shifted to look at him, and almost ended up with his elbow in Arthur’s side. “Sorry. I just…Some of what Agravaine said got to me, I guess. I mean, he’s right, I’m not— not exactly the sort of person you expected to end up with.”

 

Arthur frowned, and for a moment Merlin thought they were going to end up arguing about his uncle again. To his surprise, however, Arthur just shook his head and pressed a soft kiss to Merlin’s hair. “You’re exactly the sort of person I expected to end up with,” he said firmly. “You’re kind, you’re funny, and sometimes you’re actually even smart.”

 

Merlin snorted, although he could feel himself blushing anyway. “Worthy of a Pendragon, then, am I?”

 

Arthur’s eyes softened, and he smiled. “Definitely worthy,” he said, tugging Merlin even closer still. “And if Agravaine doesn’t like it, well. There’s nothing he can do about it. I’m not about to give you up.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written as a round robin in Merlin_Chat on Chatzy in honor of Redeyedwrath's birthday. 
> 
> Chatters: If you hoped to join in, but missed the round robin, and would like to add a chapter or an illustration, let any of us know and we can add you as a co-author to give you access. Alternatively, you can add stuff in the comments and we can put it in later!
> 
>  
> 
> Dear Reader: We'd love to have you join us in chat if you're interested here's some info: This is a link to LJ Chat page with info about chat, link to chat, etc. http://merlin-chat.livejournal.com/


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